Widow McDonald – no longer McDonald soon, once the paperwork went through – opened the door. She rubbed the area where the ring was through her glove. No one could see it, unless they were looking, but at those loyalty rallies, many people were drunk, stoned, or rabid.
She was surrounded by Fortunatas, who were mostly rabid. She went along with them, yelling at the right times, affirming and reciting the proper words. As she left, she bumped into a few other widows that she knew from training. They had gotten so high up in the ranks that they looked down at her as if she was still in the training group.
She’d shown them. She’d shown them that not only had she gotten through their training, but she had met the most wonderful man on earth – and she was married to him. She’d bear his children, and the hell with Arachnos and all their shenanigans. She’d remain home, under Alphonse’s care, raising children, and keeping him company. She’d go do some work, if necessary, that wasn’t a big deal, and she would keep up with her training, just in case.
JoAnne walked in. “Alphonse?”
She didn’t hear anyone, but kept a few blades at the ready anyway. She locked the door and went into the living area proper. Grim said it was okay for her to stay for as long as she needed, as long as she kept the place clean and he wanted it back. “If my boyfriend ever kicks me out, or I leave, which won’t happen any time soon, I assure you.”
She checked all the rooms, turning all the lights on, which was a habit she now had. She headed to the library and signed on the computer. Using an anonymous service, she signed on to a dropbox account, where she kept a very special, very important file. The first thing on the file was:
Fraxin
She got out of the suit, and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before going back to the computer. She stared at that word, and translated it in her head from her cryptographic code:
Lurch
When she first began training, this guy from Grandville who had fought his way out of the Gutter hooked up with Arachnos. He was a big guy. Intimidating. Frightening.
Although the spiders weren’t allowed to go after the widows-in-training, rumor had been going around that Jo wasn’t going to make it. Because of that, even the widows left her out in the cold. She couldn’t get a hang of the telepathy, so they had to give her a special Arachnos device. Even that didn’t work very well, only sporadically, and only with loud amplification. Same with the hologram, the cloaking device, and even her blades. She missed more than she hit.
Then Lurch came along. They all called him Lurch, but never to his face. She saw him backhand someone who did. He went into the wall and bounced when he hit the concrete ground.
She remembered the date. September 29, 2010. She had just gotten off of a patrol. She was going to be heading into Port Oakes from Mercy finally. He was in the women’s locker room. She was struggling out of the catsuit, when he came up behind her, holding a knife – no, one of his legs – to her throat. Another one tore down her catsuit, as his hands roamed all over her, and not in a nice or inviting way.
A widow found her in the shower, sitting on the floor, remnants of her uniform pooled around her along with blood from a long slash at her neck. Two weeks later, he was pounding her into the lockers, and she saw a few trainees come in, see it, and run right out. JoAnne talked to her supervisor, who dismissed it. She talked to her comrades-in-arms. None really stepped forward to even pat her arm – because they believed she was going to be out on her ass soon enough anyway.
Then she got her widowhood. The widows came a little closer, but she still never trusted them. Lurch had taken another girl right in front of her, and she tried to defend her. She ended up getting a broken shoulder and raped again for the trouble, and admonished for being a troublemaker.
Jo didn’t realize she had her knees up to her chin as she sat in the chair until she felt a cold breeze on her face. She put her hand to her cheek – she’d been crying? She wiped her face on the hem of her t-shirt. That bastard wasn’t worth her tears. That bastard needed to die.
Once she approached Scirocco and got his patronage, he would die, she vowed it. However, she remembered the day before, when Alphonse started intently at the screen to decipher the rest of the names…
Music: (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher – Jackie Wilson
Words: 822
Comments: Part one of a collaborative effort. Coming soon!